Sandra Wildfeuer
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Sandra Wildfeuer has worked at the Interior~Aleutians Campus since 2006. She is Assistant Professor of Mathematics and has been the program manager of Bridging the Gap, a federal Alaska Native Education grant, whose overall goal is to increase the numbers and preparedness of rural and Alaska Native teachers.
She received her Bachelor’s in Physics, with a minor in mathematics, from Indiana University in 1991, and her Master of Science in Curriculum & Instruction, specializing in Mathematics Education, in 1996, from Purdue University. In between, she traveled and lived overseas, working on archeology digs and at a hotel in the Swiss Alps, and enjoying time by the Red Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
She moved to Alaska in 1996 with her daughter, and began teaching math at UAF in 1998. She worked on the Math in a Cultural Context (MCC) project from 1999-2004, and is currently working on her PhD in Indigenous Studies through UAF.
Her mother was born and raised in Switzerland, and her family tree goes back to the 1400’s. As a child visiting the mountains of Switzerland, she used to point to some of the cabins in the woods, and say she wanted to live there. Her father was born in the Bronx, New York City and her paternal heritage is traced to Eastern Europe. She now lives with her daughter in a cabin she built in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Courses taught at UAF
DEVM 050 Pre-algebra
DEVM 051 Math Skills Review
DEVM 060 Elementary Algebra
DEVM 071 Review of Intermediate Algebra
DEVM 093 SAT/ACT Math Prep
DEVM 105 Intermediate Algebra
ECE 117 Math Skills for Early Childhood Education
HSV 117 Math Skills for Human Services
ED 478 Math Methods & Curriculum Development
ED 678 Math Methods & Curriculum Development
MATH 107 Functions for Calculus
MATH 108 Trigonometry
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS
38th Annual Conference of the Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Jacksonville, FL November 2012
Poster: Interactively Learning Mathematics by Distance
2011 Alaska Math & Science Conference: STEM Education: Foundation for Alaska’s Future September 2011
Strategies for Introducing Integer and Rational Exponents
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B27ycMgkgFlKdkZmWjBvZ25GYlE
37th Annual Bilingual Multicultural Education/Equity Conference, Anchorage, AK April 2011
Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching and Learning
36th Annual Conference of the Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Boston, MA November 2010
Increase Math Success to Increase Numbers of Indigenous Educators
http://www.amatyc.org/Events/conferences/2010Boston/proceedings/wildfeuer1.pdf.
Alaska Advisory Task Force on Higher Education & Career Readiness, Nome, AK October 2010
Reexamine Praxis Cut Scores in Alaska in Terms of Economics of Supply and Demand
http://hecr.aksenate.org/archives/413
36th Bilingual Multicultural Education/Equity Conference, Anchorage, AK April 2010
Creating a Pathway for Rural and Alaska Native Educators!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B27ycMgkgFlKMjY5MTMxNzItZDg2Zi00NDkzLWI5NjMtZGIxYWUyN2RkOGYy
34th Annual Conference of the Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Washington D.C. November 2008
Intermediate Algebra Arranged by Topic instead of Textbook : focusing on graphing & functions
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B27ycMgkgFlKQjdEd1lKVk1fUzQ
34th Annual Conference of the Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Washington D.C. November 2008
Distance Ed & Equal Opportunities: Learning Math in Rural Alaska
http://www.amatyc.org/publications/Electronic-proceedings/2008DC/proceedings2008/wildfeuer1.pdf
4th International Conference on Research in Access & Developmental Ed, San Juan, Puerto Rico September 2008
Distance Education & Equal Opportunities: Learning Math in Rural Alaska
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM, San Antonio, TX April 2003
Poster: Ethnomathematics and geometric activities that reach out to all students!
Native Educator’s Conference, Anchorage, AK February 2003
Effects of Using Culturally-Based Math Curriculum: Math in a Cultural Context: Lessons Learned from Yup’ik Eskimo Elders
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM, Orlando, FL April 2001
Mathematics and Culture Mini-course: Storyknifing: a Yup’ik Example
Research Council on Mathematics Learning, RCML, Las Vegas, NV March 2001
Mathematics Curriculum Development: Adapting Yup’ik Elders Knowledge
Semiotic Society of America 25th Annual Meeting, West Lafayette, IN September 2000
The Art of Storyknifing and Learning Mathematics
Institute for the Development of Culturally Responsive Schools, Fairbanks, AK August 2000
How to Teach Mathematics in a Culturally Relevant Way
Rural Academy for Culturally Responsive Schools, Fairbanks, AK May 2000
Yup’ik Math Project: Utilize Yup’ik cultural activities as a basis for teaching mathematics
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries Curriculum Retreat, Fairbanks, AK March 1999
Curriculum Development Workshop: Integrate cultural and state standards
PUBLICATIONS
· Wildfeuer, S. (2011). Strategies for Culturally Responsive Mathematics in Distance Education. Scholarly Guideposts for TCUP Faculty. Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, STEM Leadership Development for the National Science Foundation. http://www.qem.org/QEMTCUP_ScholarlyGuideApril2011.pdf.
· Sternberg, R.J. & J. Lipka, T. Newman, S. Wildfeuer, E. Grigorenko. (2006). Triarchically-Based Instruction and Assessment of Sixth-Grade Mathematics in a Yup’ik Cultural Setting in Alaska. Gifted and Talented International, 21 (2), 9-19.
http://prime.tie.wikispaces.net/file/view/Triarchically-BasedInstructAssessMathYupikCulturalSetting.pdfhttp://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/reports/rm04200/rm04200.pdf
· Lipka, J. & S. Wildfeuer, N. Wahlberg, M. George, D. R. Ezran. (2001). Elastic Geometry and Storyknifing: A Yup’ik Eskimo Example. Teaching Children Mathematics: Focus Issue: Mathematics and Culture, 7 (6), 337-343.
http://www.nctm.org/publications/article.aspx?id=21168